NON-NARRATIVE SONG

This type of folk song may be classified into the following subtypes: life cycle
songs, including those related to infancy, childhood, courtship, wedding, family life, death,
and mourning; occupational and activity songs, such as drinking songs, boat or rowing
songs; agricultural songs; ritual and religious songs; and miscellaneous songs, such as
songs about nature, and humorous songs.
A mother singing a lullaby to put her baby to sleep as illustrated by Nestor Leynes’s
Mag-ina sa Banig, 1960 (Paulino and Hetty Que Collection) The lullaby is called oyayi by
the Tagalog; ili-ili or ili by the people of Panay and Negros; duayya by the Ilocano; wiyawi
or wig-usi by the Kalinga; cansiones para ammakaturug by the Ibanag; baliwaway by the
Isinay and Ilongot; angngiduduc by the Gaddang; almalanga by the Blaan; sandaw by the
Cuyunon; buwa, tategdil, linupapay, and abenaben by the Subanon; balikata bae by the
Tiruray; yaya by the Yakan; oyog-oyog by the Mandaya; the langan bata’bata by the
Tausug; binua by the Sama Dilaut (Nimmo 2001, 185-86); and adang by the Aeta. It is a
song sung to hush babies as they are tenderly rocked to sleep in the mother’s or father’s
arms or in the cradle. As such, they have a soporific tune, sometimes with repetitious text.
The lyrics reveal something about the nature of family life and the immediate world about.
One sad lullaby found across regions tells of either parent or both parents having to be
away to look for food. Here is the Gaddang version. Some lullabies can be complex
portraits of life as lived by the common folk. In one Tagalog song, a mother expresses
her feelings about their impoverished situation, and admonishes her child to be good:
Aru, aru, maturug y adu Se innang y inam so battung Innang namanuet si aralu Ta wara
na ilutu. (Lull, lull, sleep, my boy, For your mother has gone to the creek, She went to
catch a lot of perch So there’ll be food to cook.)
It is in this tradition that contemporary lullabies, whose authors are identified, seem
to have been composed. The tune has become both soporific and melancholy, and the
lyrics express two kinds of feelings: sadness over the present state of things and the
absence of a parent, but also hope for a better tomorrow. In Jesus Manuel Santiago’s
“Meme Na, Aking Bunso” (Sleep Now, My Youngest One), probably the best-known
Tagalog lullaby in recent years, there is the element of protest the social conflicts that
keep loved ones apart. “Lingon,” a Blaan nursery song, tells of a mother who sings about
her regret over losing a beloved musical instrument, a symbol for coming of age and,
consequently, the loss of innocence. The oyog-oyog of the Mandaya celebrates childhood
and parental love and usually speaks of a person’s resolve to become virtuous despite
adversity (Fuentes and Dela Cruz 1980, 23). The typical oyog-oyog are rhyming, often
heptasyllabic couplets about the affection of parents for their children. The singer takes a
breath between each line, while maintaining a soft, but fluid tone. Words or phrases are
repeated to establish a pattern or melody. For the Sama Dilaut, the nursing song becomes
a medium for expressing matters that would otherwise be prohibited in ordinary speech.
While the mother sings the binua typically to soothe an infant, the song also enables her
to air her grievances about domestic affairs or her relationship with in-laws. Neighbors
overhear her singing and sympathize with her (Nimmo 2001, 185-86). Songs of childhood
and growing up take us to the happy and carefree world of the child—a world of fun and
games, of jokes and laughter, with much time spent outdoors in climbing trees and picking
fruits, as in the all-time favorite “Leron, Leron Sinta” (Leron, Leron Beloved). In this
juvenile world, rural poverty is mitigated by another kind of wealth. In the song “Bahay
Kubo” (Nipa Hut), the child describes not a squalid squatter dwelling, but a neat little
house of thatch and bamboo set amidst a garden planted with many kinds of nutritious
vegetables. Sanggol kong anak, anak na giliw Matulog ka nang mahimbing Marami akong
gagawin Huwag mo akong abalahin Iyang duyang hinihigan Banig mo’t lampin ay gutay
Tayo’y mahirap na tunay Luha at hapis ang yaman Kung lumaki’t magkaisip Ikaw bunso’y
magpabait Mag-aaral na masakit Ng kabanalang malinis. (Sleep, my beloved child Sleep
soundly now I have much work to do So you mustn’t disturb me Your cradle, mat, and
diaper Are all in tatters Because we’re so poor and are rich in grief and tears When you
grow up and mature May you stay good, my child Take pains that you may learn The
ways of holiness.)
The child’s closeness to nature is expressed in songs in which he mimics the
movements of crabs, as in “Dondonay,” or “Pakitong-kitong,” and talks to birds, as in
“Taringting,” the moon, or other elements in nature. Many children’s songs are sung to
accompany their play activities. Such are their counting songs, as in “Isa, Dalawa, Tatlo”
(One, Two, Three); clapping songs; songs enumerating the months of the year, as in
“Lubilubi”; and songs sung while the children play hide-and-seek and other games.
Children’s songs are called cansiones para abbing by the Ibanag, ida-ida wata by the
Maranao, langan batabata by the Tausug, sanggubanan and sandimun by the Subanon,
and lia-lia by the Sama Dilaut. Subanon children also sing the abenaben, which is typically
a lullaby, to share jokes with playmates (Aleo et al. 2002, 265). During the wedding ritual
(called chono), small Bontok boys sing the aygaen and older children sing the orakyo,
which is about how the sacrificial carabao for the chono ritual is caught and slaughtered.
Though children’s songs mostly convey playfulness and gaiety, some function as a
means for children to negotiate emotional ties with adults. Sama Dilaut children sing freely
about their anger toward playmates or elders through the lia-lia, which is sometimes
known as the “spite song.” Children may get punished for criticizing adults, but songs
provide a socially acceptable means for them to express frustration (Nimmo 2001, 186-
87). Bontok boys sing the bagbagto as they engage in a mock battle using stones as
weapons. Manobo children have a song called bakbak, which is about the frog; older
children sing the binlay pa biya-aw for their younger sibling. Maguindanaon children sing
“O! Apo, O! Apo,” about a grandfather who avenges a princess bitten by a crocodile.
“Taga Snolon” (From Snolon), which is sung by Tboli children, describes proper hygiene
and grooming as an early preparation for married life. “Patedil” from the Tboli is a song
about the beauty of a kingfisher. Maranao children sing “Pokpok Alimpako,” an
accompaniment to a game in which they sit in a circle and place their fists one on top of
another, mimicking a pounding motion while singing, and repeating the song once the
lowermost fist is released (Eugenio 1996, 129-30). Love songs constitute the biggest
group of Philippine folk songs. They are called dawot by the Mandaya, which is sung by
two lovers to each other (Sillada 2013), and Maranao; pinatalatto cu ta futu cao (literally,
“pondering within my heart”) by the Ibanag; ayegka by the Bontok; mandata by the
Manobo and Bukidnon; kulilal for the contemporary form and lantigi for the ancient form
by the Palawan; dionli by the Subanon; and lendugan by the Tiruray. The Capiznon,
Aklanon, or Ilonggo panawagon is a song about unrequited love and is more plaintive
than the balitaw, also a variety of love song. The serenade is called harana by the several
ethnic groups and tapat by the Ilocano. The aliri is an Aeta improvisational courting song.
The Yakan’s courting songs are the kalangan, lunsey, and lembukayu.